GPIB (General Purpose Interface Bus)
Since the beginning of the computer age, engineers have been trying to invent ways to transfer data faster and more efficiently. Today the most popular method is via USB, or Universal Serial Bus which can transfer data at a maximum speed of 480 mbps. But what were the past interfaces?
There have been many advancements in data transfer and one of the earliest consumer methods since the conception of the electrical bus is GPIB, or General Purpose Interface Bus.
The electrical bus was a revolutionary and necessary advancement of itself, allowing multiple devices to be connected on the same electrical circuit, therefore allowing data to follow along copper wires going from one termination to another. GPIB was created by HP (the interface was originally called HP-IB, or Hewlett Packard Instrument Bus) and was originally intended for automated machinery testing. The interface was then adopted for some of the earlier personal computers, such as the Commadore. The interface was used to connect peripherals like floppy drives.
Today in industrial settings, many machines that use the GPIB are still around. Since it is expensive to replace these machines when technology advances, it makes more sense to make adapters that will communicate with these machines.
The USB to GPIB allows one to connect modern devices to these machines. Since GPIB operates at around 8 mbps you won’t get the 480 mbps transfer speed of USB, but you’ll save a whole lot of money. Generally speaking, these machines don’t require a lot of data to be transfered, so the difference is usually a non-issue.